From: songbird@anthive.com   
      
   Drew Lawson wrote:   
   > In article <88lqsh-bj2.ln1@anthive.com>   
   > 	songbird  writes:   
   >>Drew Lawson wrote:   
   >   
   >>> Nothing yet for the beans or cucumbers, except for returning rogue   
   >>> vines to the appropriate cages.  Lots of cucumber blossoms, though.   
   >>> And a couple finger-sized fruit.  (Probably more hiding, but I   
   >>> didn't look long.)   
   >>   
   >>  cucumbers here were always productive and ended up having   
   >>more than we could eat or give away.  we decided to not grow   
   >>any this year at all as we needed the space for other things.   
   >   
   > My trouble with cucumbers is that I don't get a lot at one time.   
   > The primary goal is relish, so I need enough for a batch while they   
   > are still young and firm.  Since I haven't managed that, I get   
   > watery relish.   
   >   
   > I'm hoping I have enough planted this year.   
      
     two years ago we had 15 cucumber plants.  i put up   
   about 100 quarts of dill pickles and gave away many   
   hundreds of pounds of cucumbers, i also did make some   
   sweet pickles because Mom uses those in a few recipes   
   of hers.  last year we had 4 cucumber plants and that   
   was even too many so this year we just decided to give   
   them a pass and use the space for other things instead.   
      
      
   >>  the chipmunks got most of my pea seed harvest.  they hadn't   
   >   
   > Ten years ago it was rare for me to see a chipmunk.  Now there are   
   > at least two burrows I know of in our yard, and I see them all over   
   > the neigborhood.  As yet they haven't caused me troubles, so I still   
   > think they are cute.   
   >   
   > And they give the cats something to watch through the windows.   
      
     we have semi-feral or neighbor's cats that come through   
   for hunting.  i rarely see them leaving without something   
   in their mouth.   
      
     some years ago it was way too busy around here with   
   chipmunks running all over the place so we set up traps   
   for them which really worked.  within a few weeks i'd   
   trapped over 50 of them.  they will always be around   
   but i don't want that many - i'd never get a strawberry   
   if i had that many raiding the patch.   
      
      
     songbird   
      
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